Australian Racing Products Redline Raceway once again staged a terrific nights racing for motorsport fans in Ballarat and the greater community with locally raised Modified Sedan racer Darcy Wilson claiming victory in another Ern Overall Memorial in front of family, sponsors, and friends whilst Allan Pitcher stormed to victory in the Super Rod tour’s latest round. Also winning were Brad Marshall and Charlie Fallon in Juniors and Dillon Siely in Limited Sportsman.
A great crowd enjoyed non-stop action which unfortunately for Sally Woolstencroft and Jamie May included aerial acrobatics for the two who went flying through the air in turn four after the two cars contacted resulting in the two being dumped on their lids during qualifying racing in round two. Both drivers emerged from the care of Paramedics with a clean bill of health, the race cars, not so much.
In the Sixt Car and Truck Hire Ern Overall Memorial for Modified Sedan competitors each driver competed in two heats per driver with a pole shuffle for the top eight competitors on points to determine the pole position starter for the twenty-five-lap final. Darcy Wilson, Dale Hallett and Daniel Wilson won the three qualifying races leading up to the pole shuffle where Darcy Wilson came out on top to share the front row with Lachlan Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick got off to a tremendous start to take the early lead in the race leading the first eleven laps before Wilson made his way to the front of the field with Daniel Wilson back in third with Michael Wicks on his tail and Hallett in fifth. Wicks in his first race in around twelve months took third on lap sixteen and second on lap twenty-two before finishing two seconds behind Darcy Wilson at the chequered flag. Fitzpatrick finished third with Daniel Wilson and Hallett rounding out the top five.
In Super Rod racing for round seven of the Super Rod Tour, as Allan Pitcher the eventual winner put it, the racing was scary fast on a perfect speedway track surface. Jamie May won heat won with a short lived ten lap track record whilst in the same race Pitcher despite a seventh spot result blazed around in 14.499 seconds for a new one lap record. The big crash for Woolstencroft and May occurred in heat two whilst Woolstencroft was scorching around in second with May coming in hot in turn four in a battle for position sending both drivers skyward unintentionally, Leigh Podger won this race. Pitcher led all the way in heat three setting a new ten lap record of 2:30.851.
A twenty-five-lap final awaited competitors with Podger in the led from the drop of the green flag with Tommy Marco chasing followed by Pitcher, Peter Duynhoven and Paul Verhoeven. Nonintentional contact on lap fourteen between Pitcher on Marco left the latter out of the race with damage whilst Pitcher restarted in second behind Podger. Pitcher moved to the front on lap seventeen with Podger, Duynhoven, Ash Marshall and Verhoeven the top five. Marshall continued his barnstorming run from eleventh spot on the start line to third by lap twenty with Tanner Barclay moving past Verhoeven for fifth on lap twenty-three. The chequered flag unfurled on a Pitcher victory, with Podger getting close at the end finishing .281 behind at the line with Marshall, Peter Duynhoven and Barclay rounding out the top five.
Junior Sedan racers competed in the Top Star and New Star categories Junior Sedan Promotional Association series rounds, with both classes being won by Alexandra Speedway Club member drivers. Jaylen Knight was out in front of the field in heat one to a healthy margin in top stars before her car started to struggle with oil being dumped from her car in the closing laps. James Peacock gathered her up and took the win whilst Knight made it past the finish line in second with work to do on her car. Jake Bradley led every lap in heat two to win whilst Brad Marshall won the third passing Peacock on lap eight for the lead and a new ten lap record a couple of laps later at 2:54.176.
Bradley led until lap four of the fifteen lap final before Marshall hit the front. Never two far ahead of his challengers Marshall was able to keep his car straight as he stormed to a fifteen-lap track record of 4:16.788 just .802 of a second in front of Bradley, Peacock, Maddy Beach and her brother Blake rounding out the top five.
Local Ballarat new star competitor Chase Davey claimed the win in the first qualifier of his class finishing just .284 of a second ahead of Charlie Fallon. The locals doubled up with Oscar Conder another greater Ballarat racer winning heat two in front of Davey. Fallon claimed the final victory in the qualification races for new stars. Fallon was super-fast in the fifteen-lap final leading all laps to win by just over five seconds. Conder, Davey, Jai Hallett, and Ollie Roycroft rounded out the top five positions.
Rounding out the evenings action was the Limited Sportsman whom had not competed at Redline Raceway for nineteen seasons. Darren Adams started the evening off with victory in the first heat race setting a ten-lap record that would soon be re-broken. Dillon Siely then beat his father Mal in heat race number two with a ten-lap record of 2:42.812 whilst Mal Siely set a one lap record that would be broken before the night was done. Dillon Siely doubled up with another win in heat three whilst Craig Ansell the Victorian champion broke the one lap record dropping below sixteen seconds in heat three. A record was on the cars in the fifteen-lap final also before Daniel Hurley’s car came to a stop and the Siely lads continued their battles of the evening with Dillon coming out ahead of Mal Siely who set the final one lap record for the evening of 15.694. Victorian champion Ansell finished third with Sean Axnick and Ash Harrison rounding out the top five.
Racing returns to Redline Raceway on May the 2nd with Super Sedans, Street Stocks, Standard Saloons and Sports Sedans.
Belmont Speedway Drivers Club would like to thank the following season supporters.
Power FM
Australian Racing Products
Wren Diesel – Truck & Trailer Specialists
Kings Marine Scrap Metal Dealers
Ballarat Skip Bins
Ballarat Concrete Recyclers
True Blue Floors
B.A.C Civil Agricultural Earthworks
United Forklift & Access Solutions
IPTA Fibreglass
Shillito Electrical
Norman St Automotive
Total Tools Ballarat
G.T Earthmovers
Grist Earthworks
DMT Sports Media
Lucas Conder Automotive
Aussie Soils
AGF Seeds
Brian Patterson Painting
Fueled Ticketing, Distinct ITC Australia
Walsh Ballarat Quarries
Stewarts Bakery
Dean Miller Photography
Written by
Dean Thompson
Dean Thompson Media
For Belmont Speedway Drivers Club
